Poppy Bilderbeck
A second whistleblower to come forward sharing concerns about a plane's alleged manufacturing defects has died.
In January, 2024, an Alaskan Airlines flight - a Boeing 737 Max 9 - saw a door plug blow out while it was mid-air at 16,000 feet.
Thankfully, no one was injured, with all crew members and passengers returned to the ground.
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However, an investigation was swiftly launched to ascertain how such an incident could've ever occurred.
Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, is one of the whistleblowers who later came forward alleging Spirit AeroSystems' leadership ignored manufacturing defects in Boeing's 737 Max.
Dean accused Spirit of 'serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line'.
And the 45-year-old also testified in a shareholders lawsuit against the company which accused Spirit of prioritising 'production numbers and short-term financial outcomes over product quality,' Supply Chain Dive reports.
In January, Dean alleged he'd been fired from Spirit in April 2023 after pointing out that holes in the jet's fuselage had been drilled wrong.
He told the Wall Street Journal: "It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved.
"It doesn’t mean you completely disregard stuff, but they don’t want you to find everything and write it up."
Spirit denied the accusations and said it would stick by that in court.
It's since been revealed Dean has passed away - the second of the Boeing whistleblowers to do so.
Dean's aunt Carol Parsons told The Seattle Times Dean started having trouble breathing around two weeks ago and had to be hospitalised as a result.
However, he reportedly developed pneumonia and later a bacterial infection and then a stroke according to Dean's mom's post to social media, ultimately passing away.
Dean's sister, Taylor Rae Roberts, announced his passing in a post to Facebook.
She wrote: "My handsome brother Joshua passed away this morning and is with our baby brother. I don’t know how much more my family can take. I don’t know how much more I can take honestly."
Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino told The Independent: "Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family. This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones."
Dean's passing follows soon after the death of fellow whistleblower John 'Mitch' Barnett who was found dead from a gunshot wound in March.
The coroner's office resolved his death resulted 'from a self-inflicted gunshot wound', however the police investigation is ongoing.
One of Dean's lawyers, Brian Knowles, resolved: "Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up.
"It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family."
UNILAD has contacted Spirit AeroSystems for comment.
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